? UPDATE!!!! :: Anyone have experience with pancreatitis???

I NEED PRAYERS AND GOOD WISHES. Well, I took my baby Patches in to the vet today. She had to stay there so far. The last 2 day, she has been not eating, not drinking, laying around not wanting to be touched or petted at all. She is 8 yrs old.

They did blood work and xrays and found some type of small infection/abcess mass by/in her stomach. All other organs looked normal. Blood work showed high WBC, and temp was 104.6. She has been on Orbax for 2 days so doctor said her temp might have been up to 106 before I started.

Vet is leaning toward pancreatitis. They are putting her on meds and fluids and is going to do a FPLI test for pancreatitis. She is just laying there not caring about anything.' How did she get this? She is not diabetic from all her tests so far, but today she was 316.

Vet is going into his surgeries and just wanted to give me an update.

Anyone familiar with this? Should I put her on low fat diet? If so, what are the good ones? What about yogurt? Should i give her this if i can get her to eat it?

I don't know much about pancreatitis, but I don't think its a good thing

 

@Tuxedo Mom, @Amy Dobson and @SpecklesandMe have pancreatitis kitties.

If she's uncomfortable, it can help to raise the food bowls up a bit so she doesn't have to hunch down to eat. Pancreatitis can make cats really nauseous, and when they hunch down to eat it makes them more nauseous. My cat doesn't have pancreatitis but she's having a lot of problems with nausea right now. I put two paperback books under her food bowl and it made it easier for her to eat a bit. Ask the vet for an anti-nausea shot, and ask for some pain meds for her too. If it's pancreatitis, she could be quite uncomfortable.

Yes ideally a low-fat diet is best but right now the best food is anything she will eat and keep down. Get her stabilized and then you can switch to a low-fat diet.

I'm sorry to hear she's going through this but I'm glad she's at the vet getting fluids and meds. Paws crossed for a speedy recovery.

 

what type of low fat foods should i get? is yogurt good for her if i can get her to eat it?

 

Deep breath. You are doing the right thing. If my kitty would tolerate being hospitalized, he would be there in an instant. I've been trying to manage him at home and his case is acute and pretty severe.

You will need a pain med, Pepcid AC or ranitidine (I think same as Zantac), Cerenia or ondans for nausea, and maybe an appetite stimulant... all discussed here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/a-primer-on-pancreatitis.83108/ You should also see if the vet will give you B12 shots to do at home weekly. Make sure to keep checking her dehydration levels.

The Tanya's CRF website also has a lot of good info on pancreatitis. The "mass" on the Xray could just be internal organs all balled up due to inflammation. I know that sounds weird, but don't panic yet.

You should feed her whatever she will eat for now. If she stops eating on her own, it will be much harder (that's what I'm dealing with now). If you have to syringe feed, I would strongly recommend a "recovery food" that has high calories so that you don't end up having to feed her 800x a day.

Hang in there. A lot of people here can help.

 

Unfortunately I don't know which brands or types of food are best. Plain white yogurt is fine. Maybe try some high-carb gravy food, since cats often like it. Whatever you can get into her will help. I'm giving Marshmallow baby food right now. It's not low fat but it's soothing, she can keep it down despite her nausea, and she'll eat it. (If you go this route, use plain baby food like chicken and chicken broth, no vegetables, onions or garlic.)

 

Squeaker has pancreatitis about every 6 months regular as clockwork. There isn't a singular known cause for it, there are any given number of suggestions about the cause----high fat food is one of those possibilities. If you decide to search out and use a lower fat food you should speak with your vet about it. I know several people who give pancreatic enzymes another option to discuss with your vet. The yogurt certainly won't hurt and will help with tummy upset and digestion but I don't think it will prevent further pancreatitis events.

Typical treatment for pancreatitis includes: fluids, pain meds if necessary, nausea meds, anti acid. I have also found that a B12 injection at the time of the flare up makes Squeaker feel much better and helps with appetite.

Here is an article that you may find helpful:
http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe...rticle/animal-health/pancreatitis-in-cats/320
http://mscc.ca/pancreatitis.html

 

PATCHES UPDATE: Patches is home, but still the same. She does have pancreatitis.

Vet gave me Amoxi along with Orbax, Bup pain med, fluids and I am giving her Famotidine - 1/4 of 20mg. She still wants nothing to do with food. I haven't given fluids for about 5 yrs, so hopefully I will remember. My hubby takes Zofran 4mg for nausea. Can I break this up and give her this?

Please keep her in your prayers that she pulls out of this. She was happy to be home again.

 

she likes the pain meds; she passes out and looks so peaceful. Right now i am syringe feeding AD and she does NOT like the whole process. She does keep it down though. She got 1/4 of 4mg Zonfran this morning. We are gonna attempt fluids around 2pm. Wish me luck. I am sure she is NOT going to like that either. She still wants nothing to do with food.

 

Max has bee dealing with chronic pancreatitis for almost 6 years. There are some good articles on it and Marje has made a pancreatitis here on the FDMB. Your vet is doing all the standard treatments: sub-q fluids, cerenia or ondansetron for nausea, buprenex for pain. It's a good idea to feed small amounts more often. IDEXX has a really good Round Table Discussion on this.

 

Here's the link to the Primer on Pancreatitis - I noticed the link above may not work correctly.

 

Fred had acute pancreatitis earlier this summer. Stayed overnight in hospital, treated with meds for a week. He's fine now. In remission two months now.
~ healing prayers~